<!DOCTYPE html>
<html>
<head>
<meta charset="UTF-8">
<title>Choices by amethyst-noir (Arbonne)</title>
<style type="text/css">

body { background-color: #ffffff; }
.CI {
text-align:center;
margin-top:0px;
margin-bottom:0px;
padding:0px;
}
.center   {text-align: center;}
.cover    {text-align: center;}
.full     {width: 100%; }
.quarter  {width: 25%; }
.smcap    {font-variant: small-caps;}
.u        {text-decoration: underline;}
.bold     {font-weight: bold;}
</style>
</head>
<body>
<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/28794291">Choices</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/Arbonne/pseuds/amethyst-noir'>amethyst-noir (Arbonne)</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>Prompt Collection [109]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Doctor Strange (2016), Iron Man (Movies), Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Getting to Know Each Other, Happy Ending, M/M, Not Avengers: Endgame (Movie) Compliant, Pre-Relationship, Touch-Starved, a dash of angst</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2021-01-16</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2021-01-16</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-13 08:47:40</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>General Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>823</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/28794291</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/Arbonne/pseuds/amethyst-noir</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>"Great. I thought you had a plan. I've spent the last five years of my life thinking you had a plan and now you're telling me that you're winging it?" </p><p>(How Endgame could and should have gone.)</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Tony Stark/Stephen Strange</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>Prompt Collection [109]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/series/1126062</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>24</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>134</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>Choices</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>I received this lovely ask:<br/><i>I saw this as another ask earlier about 'scared stephen' reaching out for Tony and I am here to request a piece on it since it is such a sweet concept?!! and you write stuff like this really well ( but feel free to skip! ) Lovely writing as usual &lt;3</i></p><p>Also inspired by the prompt <i>You Made the Right Choice</i> from the bingo card living in my inbox.</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Stephen had never been one for physical touch; especially not for reaching out himself. What had been a personal choice of establishing boundaries, and being self-reliant, became a necessity after having lost most of the feeling in his hands and having no one to actually reach out for anymore, not even patients to care for.</p><p>He'd made peace with that fact - he'd always been a rather solitary person by nature anyway and the Cloak gave great hugs in addition to being an amazing support and even kind of life-partner.</p><p>He didn't even realize just how touch-starved he'd become until the moment <em>Tony</em> <em>Stark</em> of all people reached out to stabilize and comfort him and he leaned into the contact to soak up every little bit without even thinking about it.</p><p><em>Oh</em>, was his eloquent emotional response to that. His mind was still swirling with uncounted possibilities and timelines, futures that would - could - never be possible and here was Tony, reaching out, holding on and softly telling him that he was okay. Not asking, <em>telling</em>.</p><p>By that point Stephen already knew that Tony was a man full of kindness and a gentle soul - the evidence of millions of timelines was impossible to ignore, after all - but having all of that warmth directed at himself was something else entirely.</p><p>"Hi," he whispered back, unable to do more while his mind and soul were being torn apart by the knowledge of what had to happen.</p><p>He found a little bit of equilibrium over the next few hours, in the arms of none other of the man destined to die to save the universe, after Tony had taken him away into some secluded ruins to help calm him down.</p><p><em>I can't let him die</em>, he realized during those hours. There was no way he could deprive the world - the <em>universe</em> - of Tony.</p><p>Tony deserved better than that.</p>
<hr/><p>Stephen, of course, had no idea how he looked at Tony.</p><p>Tony, on the other hand, had a front-row seat and couldn't remember ever having been looked at with so much love.</p><p>It was unbelievable. Incredible. Heart stopping.</p><p>Wonderful.</p><p>He had to, needed to, have more of it. He needed <em>Stephen</em>.</p><p>So he held on in the desperate hope that his voice and his touch might be enough to keep the man from spiraling into a nervous breakdown or maybe even insanity.</p>
<hr/><p>
  <em>I can't let him die.</em>
</p><p>The words had become a mantra in his mind and when the moment came where he was supposed to hold up one finger to show Tony the way he held out his hand instead.</p><p>Reaching out for the first time in so long, despite knowing that Tony hated it when things were shoved into his face.</p><p>To Stephen's surprise and joy it only took Tony about a second to understand and after a moment of stunned disbelief he fired up his repulsors and landed next to Stephen. He even took the time to retract the nanites on his hands before reaching back to enfold Stephen's trembling hand with both of his.</p><p>Fuck. He was scared to death because of the enormity of the decision he had just made.</p><p>"So this is the plan?" Tony asked. "Holding hands? Maybe some incense and a prayer circle?" As if to illustrate his words an explosion went off behind him but he didn't react to it, all of his attention on Stephen and Stephen alone.</p><p>"I'm making this up as I go," Stephen confessed, trying to block out the sounds of the battle just like Tony did.</p><p>"Great. I thought you had a plan. I've spent the last five years of my life thinking you had a plan and now you're telling me that you're winging it?" Tony didn't sound angry. Or disappointed. And was that the hint of a grin on his face? "I like it. That's so me. So, what's the new plan?"</p><p>Stephen took a deep breath and committed himself and the universe onto a new path he'd only seen the barest glimpses of.</p><p>"For you to survive," he said, cementing his decision and allowing himself to fold his aching fingers around Tony's hand as tightly as he could, mind busy consolidating a million or more of failed timelines into one that might just be the truly winning one instead of the pyrrhic victory one he'd set them on.</p><p>*</p><p>The stunned expression on Tony's face morphing into confusion, realization and determination at that was forever branded onto Stephen's memory, just like the sense-memory of his hand being held in a tight yet gentle grip as Stephen began to speak about the new plan.</p><p>*</p><p>Over the following months and years Tony slowly taught him how to reach out not only when he was scared or in need of comfort but just because he <em>wanted</em> to, always ready to reach back and hold on, showing him over and over again that he'd made the right choice.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>I wrote this in the middle of November, before <a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/28272096">this is not the end</a> and the following writing hiatus I'm still kind of on. For some reason or another it never seemed the right time to post it. Whatever. Here it is now. Thank you so much for reading. Comments and/or Kudos are, as always, loved, adored, and appreciated in equal measures. 🤍</p><p>
  <a href="https://amethyst-noir.tumblr.com/post/640492882586943488/choices">blog post</a>
</p></blockquote></div></div>
</body>
</html>